Phone
A phone, comprising: a touch panel; a voice receiver; and a controller, coupled to the touch panel and the voice receiver, and operable to disable a touch function of the touch panel when the voice receiver detects a conversation.
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This application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/277,389, filed Nov. 25, 2008, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,295,453, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to phones, and particularly relates to phones with touch panels.
2. Description of the Related Art
Multimedia mobile phone has a touch panel with virtual keyboard and buttons, but a minimum amount of hardware input. The functions of the multimedia mobile phone include those of a camera phone and portable media player in addition to text messaging and visual voice mail. The multimedia mobile phone also offers internet services including e-mail, web browsing, and local Wi-Fi connectivity.
For different functions of the multimedia mobile phone, the touch panel thereof shows different user interfaces.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe invention provides a phone, comprising: a touch panel; a voice receiver; and a controller, coupled to the touch panel and the voice receiver, and operable to disable a touch function of the touch panel when the voice receiver detects a conversation.
In another embodiment of the invention, the phone comprises a touch panel; and a controller, operable to display a first user interface on the touch panel with a dialing icon for dialing a call, and maintain displaying the first user interface after the call is dialed.
The invention further discloses methods of controlling a touch panel of a phone. The touch panel is capable of displaying a first user interface on the touch panel. The method of the invention comprises controlling the touch panel to display a first user interface on the touch panel, wherein the first user interface includes a dialing icon for dialing a call; and controlling the touch panel to maintain displaying the first user interface after the dialing icon is tapped.
The above and other advantages will become more apparent with reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
The invention can be more fully understood by reading the subsequent detailed description and examples with references made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
The following description shows some embodiments carrying out the invention. This description is made for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention and should not be taken in a limiting sense. The scope of the invention is best determined by reference to the appended claims.
The conventional phones, which may switch from the first user interface to the second user interface once the dialing icon 106 is tapped, are inconvenient to voice service systems in which the user may need the first user interface shown in
Compared with the users of the conventional phones, the user of the invention can directly dial an extension or follow the instructions of the voice service system without switching the user interface.
In another embodiment, the voice receiver 302 may generate the interrupt signal 206 after the conversation 304 has been received for a period of time. In another embodiment, the voice receiver 302 may generate the interrupt signal 206 immediately when the voice receiver 302 receives a conversation 304.
In some embodiments, the interrupt signal 206 is generated when a switch button on the case of the phone is pressed. In these cases, the switching of the user interface is controlled by the user. The switch button may be a specially designed button on the case of the phone, or may be any of the conventional buttons on the case of the phone.
The invention may disable a touch function of the touch panel 202 when the voice receiver 302 receives conversation 304. Thus, the invention can avoid the touch panel 202 from being accidentally touched during a conversation.
The invention further discloses methods for controlling a touch panel of a phone.
The interrupt signal may be generated by several ways. In some embodiments, the interrupt signal is generated when a voice receiver of the phone receives a predetermined phrase such as ‘hello’ or ‘may I speak with’ or any other phrases. In some embodiments, the interrupt signal is generated once a conversation from the user is detected. In some embodiments, the interrupt signal is generated after a conversation has been detected for a period of time. In some embodiments, the interrupt signal is generated when a switch button on the case is touched, wherein the switch button may be a specially designed button or one of the conventional buttons on the case of the phone.
The method of the invention may further disable a touch function of the touch panel when the voice receiver receives a conversation.
The phones of the invention may be indoor phones or mobile phones or any phones with touch panels.
While the invention has been described by way of example and in terms of preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto. To the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements (as would be apparent to those skilled in the art). Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should be accorded to the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements.
Claims
1. A phone, comprising:
- a touch panel;
- a voice receiver; and
- a controller, coupled to the touch panel and the voice receiver, and operable to disable a touch function of the touch panel when the voice receiver detects a conversation from a user of the phone, wherein the conversation is detected after a call is established.
2. The phone as claimed in claim 1, wherein a predetermined phrase is detected in the conversation.
3. The phone as claimed in claim 1, wherein the touch function of the touch panel is disabled after the conversation has been detected for a period of time.
4. The phone as claimed in claim 1, wherein the touch function of the touch panel is disabled immediately when the conversation is detected.
5. A phone, comprising:
- a touch panel; and
- a controller, operable to display a first user interface comprising a plurality of numerical icons with a dialing icon on the touch panel for dialing a call, and to maintain displaying the numerical icons and maintain the numerical icons touch-enabled after the call is dialed.
6. The phone as claimed in claim 5, wherein the numerical icons are further maintained after the call is connected.
7. The phone as claimed in claim 5, wherein the controller further detects an interrupt signal after the call is dialed.
8. The phone as claimed in claim 7, wherein the controller further switches the touch panel from the first user interface to a second user interface when detecting the interrupt signal.
9. The phone as claimed in claim 8, further comprising a voice receiver operable to trigger the interrupt signal when receiving a predetermined phrase.
10. The phone as claimed in claim 8, wherein the interrupt signal is generated when a predetermined button of the first user interface is tapped.
11. The phone as claimed in claim 8, further comprising a switch button operable to trigger the interrupt signal when being pressed.
12. The phone as claimed in claim 8, further comprising a voice receiver operable to trigger the interrupt signal after a conversation has been received by the voice receiver for a period of time.
13. The phone as claimed in claim 8, further comprising a voice receiver operable to trigger the interrupt signal when receiving a conversation.
14. The phone as claimed in claim 8, further comprising a voice receiver coupled to the controller, wherein the controller is further operable to disable a touch function of the touch panel when the voice receiver receives a conversation.
15. A method for controlling a touch panel of a phone, comprising:
- controlling the touch panel to display a first user interface on the touch panel, wherein the first user interface includes a plurality of numerical icons and a dialing icon for dialing a call; and
- controlling the touch panel to maintain displaying the numerical icons and maintain the numerical icons touch-enabled after the dialing icon is tapped.
16. The method as claimed in claim 15, wherein the numerical icons are further maintained after the call is connected.
17. The method as claimed in claim 15, further comprising detecting an interrupt signal after the dialing icon of the first user interface is tapped.
18. The method as claimed in claim 17, further comprising switching the touch panel from the first user interface to a second user interface when detecting the interrupt signal.
19. The method as claimed in claim 18, wherein the interrupt signal is generated when a voice receiver of the phone receives a predetermined phrase.
20. The method as claimed in claim 18, wherein the interrupt signal is generated when a predetermined button of the first user interface is tapped.
21. The method as claimed in claim 18, wherein the interrupt signal is generated when a switch button of the phone is pressed.
22. The method as claimed in claim 18, wherein the interrupt signal is generated after a conversation has been detected by a voice receiver of the phone for a period of time.
23. The method as claimed in claim 18, wherein the interrupt signal is generated when a voice receiver of the phone receives a conversation.
24. The method as claimed in claim 18, further comprising disabling a touch function of the touch panel when a voice receiver of the phone receives a conversation.
25. A device, comprising:
- a touch panel; and
- a controller, operable to display a first user interface on the touch panel with a dialing icon for dialing a call, and cease displaying the first user interface once the call is established and after the call is dialed.
26. The device as claimed in claim 25, wherein the first interface is switched to a second user interface after the call is established.
27. The device as claimed in claim 26, wherein the first user interface is switched to the second user interface according to an interrupt signal.
28. The device as claimed in claim 27, wherein the interrupt signal is triggered after a conversation is detected by the device for a period of time.
29. The device as claimed in claim 27, wherein the interrupt signal is triggered after a predetermined button of the first user interface is tapped.
30. The device as claimed in claim 27, wherein the interrupt signal is triggered after a switch button of the device is pressed.
31. A device, comprising:
- a touch panel;
- a voice receiver; and
- a controller, coupled to the touch panel and the voice receiver, and operable to disable a touch function of the touch panel when the voice receiver detects a voice signal.
32. The device as claimed in claim 31, wherein the call is established according to an interrupt signal.
33. The device as claimed in claim 32, wherein the interrupt signal is triggered when the voice signal is detected by the voice receiver.
34. The device as claimed in claim 33, wherein the voice signal comprises predetermined phrases.
35. The device as claimed in claim 32, wherein the interrupt signal is triggered after the voice signal is detected by the voice receiver for a period of time.
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Type: Grant
Filed: Sep 26, 2012
Date of Patent: Nov 8, 2016
Patent Publication Number: 20130023311
Assignee: MEDIATEK INC. (Hsin-Chu)
Inventor: Ching-Chieh Wang (Luodong Township, Yilan County)
Primary Examiner: Van D Huynh
Application Number: 13/627,347
International Classification: H04M 11/00 (20060101); H04M 1/725 (20060101); G06F 3/0488 (20130101);